stay

¹ American  

[stey] / steɪ /

verb (used without object)

stayed, staid, staying

1. to spend some time in a place, in a situation, with a person or group, etc..

   He stayed in the army for ten years.

2. to continue to be as specified, as to condition or state.

   to stay clean.

3. to hold out or endure, as in a contest or task (followed by with orat ).

   Please stay with the project as long as you can.

4. to keep up, as with a competitor (followed bywith ).

5. Poker. to continue in a hand by matching an ante, bet, or raise.

6. to stop or halt.

7. to pause or wait, as for a moment, before proceeding or continuing; linger or tarry.

8. Archaic. to cease or desist.

9. Archaic. to stand firm.

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verb (used with object)

stayed, staid, staying

1. to stop or halt.

2. to hold back, detain, or restrain, as from going further.

3. to suspend or delay (actions, proceedings, etc.).

4. to appease or satisfy temporarily the cravings of (the stomach, appetite, etc.).

5. to remain through or during (a period of time).

   We stayed two days in San Francisco.

6. to remain to the end of; remain beyond (usually followed byout ).

7. Archaic. to await.

noun

1. the act of stopping or being stopped.

2. a stop, halt, or pause; a standstill.

3. a sojourn or temporary residence.

   a week's stay in Miami.

4. Law. a stoppage or arrest of action; suspension of a judicial proceeding.

   The governor granted a stay of execution.

5. Informal. staying power; endurance.

idioms

1. stay the course, to persevere; endure to completion.

stay ² American  

[stey] / steɪ /

noun

1. something used to support or steady a thing; prop; brace.

2. a flat strip of steel, plastic, etc., used especially for stiffening corsets, collars, etc.

3. a long rod running between opposite walls, heads or sides of a furnace, boiler, tank, or the like, to strengthen them against internal pressures.

4. Chiefly British. stays, a corset.

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verb (used with object)

stayed, staying

1. to support, prop, or hold up (sometimes followed byup ).

2. to sustain or strengthen mentally or spiritually.

3. to rest on (something, as a foundation or base) for support.

4. to cause something to become fixed or to rest on (a support, foundation, base, etc.)

stay ³ American  

[stey] / steɪ /

noun

1. any of various strong ropes or wires for steadying masts, funnels, etc.

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verb (used with object)

stayed, staying

1. to support or secure with a stay or stays.

   to stay a mast.

2. to put (a ship) on the other tack.

verb (used without object)

stayed, staying

1. (of a ship) to change to the other tack.

idioms

1. in stays, (of a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel) heading into the wind with sails shaking, as in coming about.

stay ¹ British  

/ steɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to continue or remain in a certain place, position, etc

   to stay outside

2. (copula) to continue to be; remain

   to stay awake

3. to reside temporarily, esp as a guest

   to stay at a hotel

4. (tr) to remain for a specified period

   to stay the weekend

5. (intr) to reside permanently or habitually; live

6. archaic to stop or cause to stop

7. (intr) to wait, pause, or tarry

8. (tr) to delay or hinder

9. (tr)

   1. to discontinue or suspend (a judicial proceeding)

   2. to hold in abeyance or restrain from enforcing (an order, decree, etc)

10. to endure (something testing or difficult, such as a race)

    a horse that stays the course

11. to keep pace (with a competitor in a race, etc)

12. (intr) poker to raise one's stakes enough to stay in a round

13. (tr) to hold back or restrain

    to stay one's anger

14. (tr) to satisfy or appease (an appetite, etc) temporarily

15. archaic (tr) to quell or suppress

16. archaic (intr) to stand firm

17. See put

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noun

1. the act of staying or sojourning in a place or the period during which one stays

2. the act of stopping or restraining or state of being stopped, etc

3. the suspension of a judicial proceeding, etc

   stay of execution

stay ² British  

/ steɪ /

noun

1. anything that supports or steadies, such as a prop or buttress

2. a thin strip of metal, plastic, bone, etc, used to stiffen corsets, etc

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to prop or hold

2. (often foll by up) to comfort or sustain

3. to cause to rely or depend

stay ³ British  

/ steɪ /

noun

1. a rope, cable, or chain, usually one of a set, used for bracing uprights, such as masts, funnels, flagpoles, chimneys, etc; guy See also stays stays

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stay More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stay

• (stay on one's) right side
• (stay) in touch
• here to stay
• should have stood (stayed) in bed
• stick (stay) with

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Etymology

Origin of stay¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English staien, from Anglo-French estaier, Old French ester, from Latin stāre “to stand, stand up, be standing, stand in attendance”; see origin at stand

Origin of stay²

First recorded in 1505–15; apparently same as stay ³ (compare Old French estayer “to hold in place, support”), or perhaps derivative of Middle English steye “rope to steady a mast”; stay ³

Origin of stay³

First recorded before 1150; Middle English stai, stey(e), Old English stæg; cognate with German Stag, Dutch stag, Old Norse stag

Explanation

To stay is to remain or wait in the same place. When you tell your dog to stay, you expect her to keep sitting until you call her over. You can stay in the short term, like when you stay in your seat even though you're antsy, or in the long term, like when you decide to stay in Missouri after you graduate from college. You can also stay calm or stay out of trouble. Legally, to stay is to delay or suspend proceedings, like when a judge stays a decision. A less-common meaning of stay is "a support," from the Middle French estaie, "wood used as a support."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stay staid stayed staying

Granada mayor Marifran Carazo urged people to stay at home and "above all, if there is another tremor, avoid going outside and standing alongside buildings".

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

You can still say, “OK, let’s stay on topic.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

For now, property and casualty insurers’ underwriting profitability—across auto and other lines—is expected to stay stable through next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

But my use of antithetical framing had gone up even as I’d told myself I would stay away from it.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

“After what they did to Jimmie Jackson, no way I was gonna stay home. Nah, I got to be here!”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Corpse flowers are showstoppers in the staid world of conservatories and botanic gardens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

But he’ll return, as a ghost, to criticize his son, who, admittedly, has grown staid and stale in his life, his marriage and his work, whatever that’s been.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Warsh, who comes to the Fed armed with a self-proclaimed reform agenda, is expected to push for shakeups at the relatively staid institution.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

We know this because Charles Dance recites Michelangelo’s snidest journal passages throughout, bringing a welcome pettiness to an otherwise staid chapter of art history.

From Salon ● May 16, 2026

Then turning to Mrs. Weston, with a look of gentle reproach—“Ah! Miss Taylor, if you had not married, you would have staid at home with me.”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

The crown princess had exchanged hundreds of emails with the disgraced Epstein between 2011 and 2014, and stayed in his Florida house when he was not there.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Treasury yields declined across maturities, though stayed at elevated levels, as Brent oil is largely stable, while market expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes are weakening.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

His father followed the money south in the 1950s and stayed there, but George H.W.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

That’s why Roberts has stayed on him, he said, reminding him who he is.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Because the all-day task of pushing buttons was boring, I was tempted to chitchat, but Miss Buckner’s warning not to fraternize with the patrons stayed fresh in my mind.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Rather than focusing on explosive, fast-paced movements, tai chi is generally composed of slow, smooth, continuous movements staying within a modest range of motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The findings suggest that the body gradually gives up some movement efficiency in favor of staying stable and upright.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Singapore is one of the world's fastest aging countries and its seniors are embracing the challenge of staying healthy creatively.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Researchers broadly agree that staying healthy longer comes down to four habits: exercise most days, eat mostly unprocessed food, sleep enough and stay socially connected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“We’re not going anywhere till you tell us the rest of the story. We’re staying right where we are, aren’t we, Karl?”

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• continue
• delay
• hang
• last
• linger
• remain
• reside
• settle
• stand
• stick around
• stop